British Liberty Patrick Henry Analysis

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Before the American Revolution, the definition of liberty meant limiting the government power that the English had over the colonies. As mentioned by Eric Foner in the Chapter five video British Liberty, many Americans felt as if the British government had far too much control and were enslaving them. He reminds us that liberty did not apply to Spanish, Catholics, and Africans. At the time they were pushing for British liberty, slaves were being brought over from Africa. In Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" (March 23, 1775), he encourages war against the British. In his speech, Henry talks about the British soldiers duties, and that are there to protect the colonies, but instead, they are enforcing the law. Henry feels that the only way to freedom is by a revolution. He then states “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Some ideas of the revolutionary war included opposition to…show more content…
It changed because the different types of labor that were depended on, no longer existed. This created a distinction between freedom, liberty, and slavery because the northern states relied on free labor and the southern states heavily depended on slavery. The American Revolution paved the way for new American ideals or freedom and liberty. The American Revolution impacted slavery significantly. In the late 18th century, slavery had become something deemed as normal to white Americans. From numerous points of view, the Revolution fortified American responsibility regarding slavery. The Revolution depended on radical new thoughts regarding "freedom" and "liberty," which tested slavery’s long history of extremely inhumane practices and equality. The progressions to slavery in the American Revolution era uncovered both the potential for change and its disappointment more obviously than some other
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